Thursday, November 4, 2010

I am so very excited to share this tutorial, because I love the look of mercury glass (especially during the holiday season) but amassing a collection of it could get pretty expensive.

About a month ago I actually tried to recreate the look with regular metallic spray paint, but I wasn't thrilled with the results (I'm picky!) so I was tickled when I stumbled upon Krylon's Looking Glass spray paint.

(Do people still say they're 'tickled'? Because I was.)

Step 1: Gather some glass that would benefit from mercury-ization (to use a technical term).

The larger hurricane I got ages ago at Walmart or JoAnn or something for less than $10, and the two smaller ones were from a dollar store.

Step 2: Start spraying the Looking Glass paint onto the inside of the glass. I held the hurricanes in my hand so they were laying on their sides and applied the paint in quick bursts, then rotated the glass to get the next area. The key here is to be very light in your applications -- this paint is thin and runny and doesn't leave much room for gloppy errors.

Let it rest for about a minute (it dries fast) and repeat. The instructions call for 5 applications with 1 minute drying time in between each.

After one coat, the glass will just have a bit of a reflective shimmer to it, but you will still be able to see through it.

And here below you can see the squeal-inducing magic happening. As the paint dries, it turns from the classic spray paint metallic look to the actual mirror-like finish. You can actually watch it happening, it dries so quickly.

Loooooooove it!﻿

Here are the hurricanes after 5 or so coats:

Now here comes to important/tricky-ish part (don't worry it's not really difficult, just pay attention):

I remembered reading on the great blog Vintage Revivals how Mandi had achieved an Anthropologie-like finish on a mirror by using some sort of chemical or acid to eat away at some of the metal on the backside of the mirror... and that gave me an idea; I figured I didn't need any harsh chemicals, since this was paint and not real metal on the back of the glass, so I made a mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% water and put it into a spray bottle. Acidic, right?

After letting the paint dry for 5-10 minutes, I sprayed the vinegar-water solution lightly into the inside of the hurricanes just to cover the surface with little beads:

I tried to get the vinegar only on the bottom half so my hand inside the hurricane didn't accidentally rub off the finish on top while I was distressing the bottom. I did the top part of the hurricane after I was finished with the bottom.

I let the beads of vinegar-water sit for 20 seconds or so, depending on how long I had let the paint dry, and then it was time to begin!

For the purposes of this tutorial, I recreated the distressing process on a piece of glass from a small picture frame so I could take photos to illustrate how I achieved this specific finish:

I sprayed on the vinegar-water:

I took a paper napkin, folded it up and dampened it with the vinegar-water solution. I wanted everything that came in contact with the finish to be soft (kind of like fine sandpaper instead of rough, get it?)

I took the damp napkin and gently dabbed (up and down, not side to side) the beads of vinegar, and voila! The vinegar had started to eat away at the paint (this worked better if I only let the paint dry a few minutes rather than an hour or so... I had to rub a bit more on drier paint).

Then I gently started to rub the damp napkin in circles to widen those distressed areas and start sloughing off more of the paint. I found that using the pads of my fingers when rubbing with the napkin, versus the tips of my fingers, helped lessen the pressure and the chance of giant flakes of paint coming loose:

Use your judgment to achieve your 'ideal' look -- I sprayed a bit more vinegar on and then rubbed very lightly because I wanted a scattering of very tiny holes too, not just the larger ones I had rubbed off:

I finished it off with one or two very light coats of the Looking Glass spray paint, to add a bit of dimension to the spots that had no paint -- I still wanted them to glow, shimmer, look a tad mirror-y... pick your word!

Step 4:(Optional, but recommended) Apply some sort of protective coat, like a clear spray to the inside of your glass. (And remember, don't put live plants or food into a container that you've sprayed)

Thanks girls!! I'm really happy with how it turned how, using that special paint made all the difference in the world. If any of you try it and post about it, please let me know I'd love to come see it!!

Oh My.....you and your mad crafty skills. I am jealous of them. I am pretty sure I was born without them, or you stole them from me in my sleep. :) I LOVE this project and talk about MAJOR money saving cutness for everyone! Do you know how much those dang things cost from a for realsies store instead of your crafty world? I am bringing over wine (again) and you and I are going to have to create some cutness for my house....just to make me feel a little less like the milk mans kid. :)

Your results are totally fabulous! I have heard of this paint but not tried it yet. I had also read that another option for creating a distressed look is to spritz the glass ever so lightly with plain water before applying paint. That would theoretically keep the paint from adhering evenly. That might work, but perhaps you'd have to spray the glass between each coat of paint. in any case, your approach seems far superior. Bravo!!!

Anna, I tried regular silver paint too and wasn't happy with the results at all. I've been searching for the Looking Glass spray paint without success (except for ordering it online)--were you able to find yours locally? Your projects turned out so wonderfully!

This is fra.freakin.tastic!Thank you for sharing! I am in love with mercury glass and agre...I can do vinegar/water and spray paint much better than spending my paychec at potterybarn! Thanks for sharing!

Ok, I love how yours turned out! I tried making this with the regular silver spray paint as well, and it just didn't work. I am still trying to find the mirror spray paint! I linked to your tutorial in one of my recent posts because it's so great! Thanks!

I HAD to tell you that this is a tutorial for MG with THE BEST results I have seen! I think they looked the most realistic of all the different ways people have tried! I just found your site from a link on Just A Girl and can't wait to read the rest. Thanks so much and I will be making lots of faux MG asap!

I found the Rust-Oleum Bright Coat metallic finish spray today (the cap is mirror-like, not just silver) so I am hoping for mercury delicious results. The can says 'fast drying - rich shiny finish', so we will see.

No, I use real candles -- I did some research and spray paint isn't flammable once it's dry, which is why I'm guessing it's okay to paint light fixtures and heat registers that get very hot. I think you're safe, but make sure to exercise your best judgement and supervise any open flame in your home :) Be safe!

This is very cool! I'm thinking about adding a few piece of mercury glass on my son's bookcase. Thank you for providing a great tutorial. I was going to use some silver spray paint but I think I'll wait and get some looks like glass spray paint.

Fabulous job! They are absoulutely lovely! This is the best tutorial I have ever seen for this! I feel like I could actually do this now! Thank you!You should come link this up to my weekly Thursday Making It With Allie Link Party! I think it would make a Fabulous addition!AllieMakes.Blogspot.com

I would only spray the looking glass paint on the inside -- it's not made to be pretty on the side you spray it on -- it's made for the back of glass specifically, so the finish isn't metallic or nice at all :) if you had to spray on the outside, i'd use a chrome paint -- take a look at this, http://takethesidestreet.blogspot.com/2010/11/mercury-glass-side-by-side-paint.html

and then you could do something a bit like this: http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/2009/09/week-1-diy-show-off-fall-festival.html

I came up with an idea based on this tutorial. I haven't done anything with it just yet, but would like your opinion. Check it out at http://thechandlersblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-to-do-what-to-do.html

Beautiful! I was thinking this might make beautiful table numbers for a wedding if I made took picture frame glass and taped off a number on them and "mercury glassed" them, then framed them. Do you think that would work?

Ok!!! This tutorial is AWESOME!!! I have been trying to get my hands on this stuff for quite some time but can't find it anywhere!! I guess I will be ordering online!!I would love for you to link this one up too at my new link party!! Show Me How!!! ~ Friday ~ Tips, Tricks, & Tutorials ~ No. 1 ~I'm not above begging, lol!! :))LOVE FROM TEXAS!!~~Michella~~www.michellamarie.com~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These vases look so beautiful. The tutorial was easy to follow. Will give it a try sometime soon. For now, I have shared it on my blog. Included a link to your page... expect high traffic and loads of comments :)

My friend and I did this today! It definitely took us what felt like a zillion and a half coats to make it perfect before we distressed, but WELL WORTH IT! It totally works! Thank you so much for this post!

I found it at a larger Hobby Lobby store. The smaller store here told me to go to a larger store and they keep it in stock. It was in the next town, but worth the trip, because the shipping costs for online ordering can get expensive for a combustible product; about half the cost of the product!

Thank you Anna. :-) We don't have Hobby Lobby here in the NW, but I did ask at Michael's and now have a can to play with. Definitely something I'll want to use my coupons on (spendy). lol

Anon - I have something that can't be worked from the inside as well, so I'm going to experiment with Krylon Chrome. It probably won't be shiny enough, but I might come up with something interesting anyway.

I tried this out last night! It was SOOO easy! I picked up a large wine glass looking vase from the thrift store for $3 and followed your instructions. Genius! I am using mercury glass in my wedding and wanted to see if I could emulate the look of some votives I already had. The only thing I didn't follow 100% was the instruction to wipe the vinegar solution in a circular motion... in retrospect, that would have been better because I got some straight across wipe marks. But, all in all, it looks awesome! Thank you for the tips, you ROCK!

You're not kidding about the paint being thin. I'm not an amateur when it comes to spray painting, but using this stuff is difficult. I tried quick bursts as suggested, but it wasn't easy on such a small piece. I ended up rotating the votive, allowing the paint to spread over the glass. I continued rotating until it was nearly dry. Four coats in and the glass was still fairly see through.

It's been too cold to try spraying again, but I will at a later date. I hope I can get the hang of it because I love the look.

Thank you for this tutorial! I'm doing this to a dozen or so glass containers for my wedding, and they look BEAUTIFUL! Like an earlier reviewer, quick bursts did nothing for me, so I sprayed it on fairly thick and then rotated the glass to allow the paint to spread around until it dried.

I found a Faux Mercury Glass pendant at Fergusons but it was so expensive and I need four (I'm remodeling the kitchen). Can I do this project on glass for a pendant and use it as a light fixture? I really want MG for my new space.

So.. good news: Krylon looking glass is 3.99 at Michaels right now...bad news? The salesman said they would no longer be carrying it. I bought the two cans they had left... if anyone is wanting to do this tutorial, you better hurry before they are all gone :(

I've done this twice. The second time I used a magic eraser instead of the vinegar and water. I think it turned out much better and was easier to control the amount of paint that was removed and where it was removed. Magic eraser is a miracle!!!

Various types of glasses are available in market but the best use of glasses is in farm of wearing glasses which are in different designs and different colors it is the beauty touch of glamorous in recent era.

For those on the west coast, Orchard Supply Hardware just started carrying this paint. $10 a can there, vs. $20 a can at Beverly's Fabric and Crafts, which also has it in stock in my area (near Santa Cruz).

My daughter's wedding is over and the centerpieces were beautiful thanks to the finding of this tutorial!!! I used 5 cans of paint for 25 large milk can vases and 50 small milk can vases. We put votives in the small ones, and 3" pillars in the large ones - they looked fabulous when placed on a round mirror that was on top of a 24" square "wedding theme" fabric with three votives surrounding the vases and a sprinkle of fake rose pedals .... we found this to be a much more affordable option to flowers - and plus - now I have them forever ........... or until I decide to craigslist them....

I plan to try this on a curio cabinet I got as a wedding gift in 2000. Its dated and I still want to use it, just give it a different look. I'll try to send before and after pics. It's that honey oak color now, but I want to stain it black possibly, and I've been wondering what to do with the side mirrors, this is perfect! Thanks!

Hi! Your tutorial is great! I wanted to let you know I am using your technique to paint glass shelves for my office, and I link back to your post at my blog today: http://thatmommyblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/cuz-everyday-im-shufflin-new-office.html

The paint is made to be sprayed on the reverse side of glass, it won't have the same effect if sprayed on the outside... so I'd just set another container inside of the mercury glass container to hold the water/flowers?

I just got married a week and a half ago and used mercury glass votives in my centerpieces. I SO wish I had seen this tutorial before that so I could have done more with it. Still, I will definitely try this for my own candle holders at home. So genius!!!

I've now tried two different techniques for faux mercury glass...One that calls for using plain water, and this one. I haven't found the plain water technique to look much like 'real' mercury glass, but this technique offers way better results.

I used the vinegar/water solution on a piece that I had done with the previous technique, and it looks more like the real thing now.

I was curious about real candles myself, but I tend to use LEDs (tealights and pillars) so it's not much of an issue for me. I had considered a shot of sealer, on the other hand, once the paint itself is thoroughly dry it shouldn't be an issue anyway.

I've been trying this on 3 different vases and none of it is working. I let it dry for more than 1 minute in between coats and nothing seems to change - the paint isn't sticking at all. Not to mention there is no way that there aren't any runs regardless of me spraying the approximate 8 to 10 inches away.

I'm lost. I was so excited to start this project for my wedding; thank god I did a test run before I ruined 30 vases and candle holders.

I'm so upset because I wanted this to work out. I've tried other blogs tutorials and I just don't get what I am doing wrong.

Why did I never think of this..a friend wants this for her daughter's wedding..gotta do a practice run before I suggest it to her..THE END PRODUCT is certainly worth the effort. glam, glam glam or ous.

I just did this technique on a mirror and am in absolute love with the results! I had a hard time finding it locally (Michael's, Lowe's, etc) but low and behold, WALMART carried it! I was surprised how fast the vinegar worked-almost instantly. Thank you for this, I am sure I will use it again in the future!Kellie

It's been a long time-but I'm just getting into this! I just love how yours turned out-the ones I (finally!) made don't look as cute, but I'm going to be on the look-out at yard sales. I hope you don't mind if I link to you so everyone (who hasn't made them yet!) knows how it's done.Thank you,Kudzuwww.kudzukween.blogspot.com

WOW! This is incredible. I stumbled on your blog while looking for ways to get THAT SMELL out of old furniture. Well the furniture is going to have to stink a while longer 'cause I need to make some mercury glass. SO GORGEOUS!

Hey, has anyone used this technique on a mirror? I'm looking to cover part of a mirrored wall, and a different website suggested the "faux mercury" technique to soften the harsh look of a total mirror. Anyone know anything about that? Thanks!